Quite how many TiVo users are affected by the closure isn't known, but a fair few are complaining online about what they perceive as TiVo's shoddy treatment of its UK fans.

TiVo countered by saying it hasn't been billing them for its service since November 2010, and that there is an upgrade path, of sorts.

TiVo suggested its customers hotfoot it to Virgin Media, which is not yet shipping its new TiVo box but is asking punters to register their interest in the gadget. But not everyone who has an old TiVo machine lives in an area cabled up by Virgin, which is currently available to just over half the UK population.

Should old-style TiVo users really complain about losing a service to a box that's now at least nine years old? What do you think. ®